The design of the ‘Queen of the Skies’, notably is painted with an image of a redheaded woman wearing a dress in Virgin’s trademark red shade…reports Asian Lite News
British airline Virgin Atlantic has named a plane after Queen Elizabeth II to honour the late monarch and her 70-year reign in the United Kingdom.
Repurposing its phrase name in honour of the late British Queen, the airline’s brand new Airbus A330neo, with the registration G-VEII, has been dubbed Queen of the Skies.
This is not the first time the airlines are doing something like this. Previously as well, the airline has occasionally named its planes after notable women in history, including British suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, singer Billie Holiday and Diana, Princess of Wales.
“We’re delighted to soon be welcoming ‘Queen of the Skies’ to our fleet and hope that it serves as a fitting tribute to an unforgettable, much-loved monarch,” CNN quoted Corneel Koster, chief customer and operations officer at Virgin Atlantic as saying.
Queen Elizabeth, who passed away in September 2022 visited more than 120 countries during her reign. In 2019, the A330neo was delivered amid great excitement. Long, narrow wings on wide-body aircraft reduce air drag and result in fuel savings.
The design of the ‘Queen of the Skies’, notably is painted with an image of a redheaded woman wearing a dress in Virgin’s trademark red shade.
“Just like Queen Elizabeth during her historic 70-year reign, Virgin Atlantic is proud to fly the flag for the United Kingdom around the world,” said Corneel Koster, chief customer and operations officer at Virgin Atlantic, in a statement.
“We’re delighted to soon be welcoming ‘Queen of the Skies’ to our fleet and hope that it serves as a fitting tribute to an unforgettable, much-loved monarch.”
Queen Elizabeth, who died in September 2022, was a frequent traveler during her reign, visiting more than 120 countries.
The Royal Air Force plane that carried her coffin from Edinburgh to London ahead of her funeral set a record on the flight-tracking website FlighRadar24. The 72-minute flight was followed by 4.79 million people on Flightradar24’s website and mobile app, plus an additional 296,000 who tracked the plane on YouTube.
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